The Feral Rich Are Destroying Our Civilised Society
Reprinted with permission, from Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies.
Economy
Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Building a movement: acting local, talking global
The Greens, I’m in for the Future, is a promising initiative. The Greens’ focus on Auckland transport will be a great start. To end the “neoliberal” dominance, it is necessary to apply pressure from below. What can we learn from Canadian anti-“neoliberal” groups like Common Causes & Idle No More? [Updated]
There is an alternative
Some people who don’t really understand economics think it’s all about confidence – if business would be more confident, they would then invest more and hire more people. In truth, confidence is merely an indicator that the fundamentals for growth are right. So, when Joyce accuses manufacturing bosses of ‘talking down’ the economy, he’s missing the point. Probably intentionally.
Some free advice for Mr Fixit
Steven Joyce is about to severely tarnish his Mr Fixit reputation by making the wrong decision about Novopay.
Key’s ‘big’ new policy
Sunday Reading
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: girls dying in recession, forgotten wars, and the spin of the Right.
The heart of darkness
I wondered why the Herald had given a column to a barely literate liquidator, until now. They say sunlight is the best disinfectant, and running Damien Grant’s hateful, self-centred pieces exposes the ugliness at the heart of the neoliberal capitalist class. The titles alone are enough: ‘I’d rather a better phone than feed a hungry child’, ‘Life as the top capitalist in capitalism the only life worth having’.
Green Party “I’m in – for the future”
For once lately, I agree with Matt McCarten on the Green Party being Centre Stage this week: a housing policy for renters and buyers on low incomes, including state housing. Memorable speech at Ratana by Turei. Today: Picnic for the Planet, State of the Planet speech & the launch of a new “I’m in – for the future” initiative.
Annette Sykes: a future MP?
Mana Party president, Annette Sykes could become an MP in the next election. The future of the Maori Party is in doubt. Hone Harawira is considering a Mana-Maori Party merger. Sykes is committed to left wing values, social justice, Maori land & water rights, and social & economic justice for Maori.
Key’s brighter future
“I’d love to see wages drop”. Remember when John Key said that? Well now our glorious PM is getting all excited about how we can attract investment with our low wages and lack of employment protections.
You say ‘flexible labour market’, I say ‘workers’ rights’
So John Key says Hollywood likes New Zealand because of weak unions, low fringe benefit costs and the ‘flexible labour market’.
In other words they can get their wage slaves to work longer for less with fewer complaints.
Sick
Bill English’s priority in 2013 will be to “bed in” welfare reforms. Because that’s where the big fiscal savings lie. He’s hoping to […]
Jobs(.govt.nz) to Australia
Danyl at Dimpost has discovered that National is so serious about (enhancing) the drain of jobs and Kiwis to Australia that they’ve actually […]
NZ economic forecast “deteriorating”
According to an international credit reporting agency our economic “risk profile” is “deteriorating”, due in part to rising unemployment. Good work National.
Media Bias & Democracy II: beyond 2 sides
MSM “impartiality” focuses on two sides of a very narrow and shifting “centre”. Parliamentary Labour parties have got locked into appealing to this centre, over time shifting the caucus rightwards. Only momentum from the flax roots can break the resulting steady rightwards shift.
Pushed off the safety net
News from Australia reports an increase in numbers turning to sex work following cuts to welfare benefits. Here in NZ as a similar cost-saving measure we have benefit purges underway – at a time of rising unemployment…
Think big & embrace the rot
The World Bank has recently issued a report saying NZ needs to focus more on being friendly to multinational corporations. Matt McCarten argues that some multinationals are bad for our health. And sugary food and drinks are rotting Kiwi children’s teeth.
Affordable housing
The housing bubble’s clearly back. More wealth concentrated in the hands of the few. More of the rest of us stuck with renting for life. The politicians are talking about affordable housing. But Labour’s plan’s not affordable unless your income’s $60,000 a year or more. And who could afford the petrol you would burn living in National’s planned exurbs?
Doing the numbers: benefits & (un)employment
Paula Bennett stated that the numbers of people on benefits had dropped over the last quarter. The figures mask the reality of Bennett’s punitive welfare reforms, and the struggles of those living on low incomes. Meanwhile unemployment is still rising. [Update: RNZ]
Charter Schools: A failed idea
Submissions for the Education Amendment Bill 2012 (includes Charter Schools) close on 24 January. The PPTA reminds us that Charter Schools are a failed idea. Even Treasury documents show they are a bad idea.
Market madness
Cat beats stockbrokers at playing the market. Bottom line, we are all at the mercy of a financial system that we don’t and probably can’t understand.
Time for Joyce to end the pipe-dream
The oil and gas industry employs fewer people than have lost their jobs in manufacturing every 4 months under National. Yet, Joyce devotes […]
This time, it’s different
For the 5th year running, it’s that time of year, when the economists start promising the recovery is here. (remember ‘green shoots‘ in 2009?) Meanwhile, in the real world, there are twice as many jobless Kiwis as five years ago, and rising. If the pattern holds, later this year the economists will be lamenting the mysterious under-performance of the economy, as petrol hits a record price again.
Where is National on house prices?
With a 10% increase in the median house price last year, we’re firmly back on a damaging house price binge. Labour has policies that address the issue. Where is National?
Ear treatment cuts another attack on the poor
The Nats want to cut the budget for surgery to install grommets, a technique for treating persistent ear infection (especially in children). Naturally those most effected by this ill-considered move will be children from poor families.
If you can’t beat ’em, scaremonger about ’em
The Herald’s running a pretty intense series about how awful it is to emigrate to Australia. A cynic might think the editor’s daughter is talking about crossing the ditch, such is the passion in the anti-Aussie message. But all the stories follow the same pattern: ‘Aussie is bad because of X, yet Kiwis are flocking there in record numbers’. There’s one number that matters: here it’s 7.3%, in Aussie 5.3%.
So, that’s what Nats mean by creating jobs
We all know, because that Nice Man Mr Key told us, the government can’t create jobs. That is, unless it has given away $67m to international bully boys and wants to show a return on investment. Then, it can create 3,000 jobs out of thin air. It turns out, that’s where the claim that the Hobbit films created 3,000 Kiwi jobs came from. But it gets worse.
Johny on ice
After four weeks holiday in Hawaii, John Key will briefly land in New Zealand this week before popping off on a junket to Antarctica. Now, you won’t hear a lot about this in the media – because half the press gallery is going with him and they’re just excited to go to Antarctica – but there’s all kinds of buzz coming out of the public service about how and why Key set up this trip.
Missing the point: Minister of Tourism fail
Michael Field on Stuff, responds to a question he attributes to “Labour Party blog, The Standard” about our Minister of Tourism spending most of his holidays in Hawaii and fails to answer the question he cites. Field diverts to past PMs, ignores all Clark’s NZ holidays, and champions “Kiwi” Muldoon.
I know, how about a Jobs Summit
Today, Fran O’Sullivan calls Key out on his complete failure on jobs: “If I have one New Year’s wish it is that John Key returns from his Hawaiian summer holiday brimming with enough determination to challenge the nation’s employers – and himself – to tackle youth unemployment.” In fact, she is the latest of the rightwing’s pundits to conclude neoliberalism has failed.
Upcoming talk on Canadian student uprising
This Sunday hip hop artist and political activist Darius Mirshahi will be speaking in Auckland about the political situation in Canada and how the left are organising to resist Neo-Liberalism. Later he will be performing material which has lead to attention from Glen Beck and the Canadian police.
State housing vs home ownership
Labour’s 2012 Kiwibuild policy has focused on building homes for first time buyers. Now we are told Labour’s 2011 policy pledging to increase the state housing stock still stands. This raises many questions: including do-ability and the Labour leadership’s continuing (neoliberal) focus.
Mr Fail strikes again
On Monday, Steven Joyce promised lots of new jobs in the wood manufacturing industry thanks to the wonders of foreign investment and a do nothing government, and called the Left anti-jobs. On Wednesday, wood manufacturer Norske Skog sacked 110 workers. What’s Joyce’s next trick, attend a funeral, tell the departed to ‘wake up’, and blame the rest of the congregation when he doesn’t?
Back to work time
Looks like people are heading back to work. I’m always surprised at how predictable the end of year pattern is on this site. In fact I can (and do) bet server maintenance on it. This year we moved fully into the cloud but did it offshore. That way we don’t pay excessive variable costs to the Southern Cross cable monopoly to pay for searchbots.
Where the bloody hell are you?
Like here, Queensland’s tourism industry is hurting. Like ours, Queensland’s Tourism Minister thought it would be a good idea to holiday in a foreign tropical resort instead of supporting her local industry. But, there, the main newspaper responded with a devastating “where the bloody hell are you” attack that could sink her career. Here, not so much.
Climate Change & Poverty
The wildfires in Australia are an immediate cause for concern. Such events will be more common as average temperatures rise. Joseph Stigliz warns of an urgent need for structural change to respond to economic decline, climate change, poverty and inequality.